Effective, Low-cost Soil Conservation

Researchers have estimated that, over the past four decades, the world has lost a third of its arable land due to erosion or pollution. Solutions are constantly being sought. Frans Joseph and Mias van der Westhuizen of the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development recently tested the mitigating effect of a simple, inexpensive method to address soil erosion.

- Frans Joseph & Mias van der Westhuizen

Land degradation is set to have a major impact on global food demand if its rate is not urgently attended to. Recent statistics indicate that 33% of high-potential soils in the world have been lost over the past 40 years. It is therefore crucial to utilise agricultural land more sustainably to ensure long-term productivity.

South Africa is not exempt from this global phenomenon, as many of the country’s land users, particularly emerging farmers, have inadequate knowledge of the causes and prevention of erosion.

It is against this background that Sannaspos farm near Bloemfontein was used as a demonstration site for implementing certain soil conservation techniques to reduce physical land degradation.

SOIL’S PRODUCTION CAPABILITY REDUCED

Soil degradation can be defined as a change in the soil’s health status resulting in a diminished capacity to provide services such as crop production (Hatfield, 2017) and livestock production.

Degradation involves loss of soil due to water or wind; depletion of nutrients or toxicity due to acidity or alkalinity; water logging; and reduction in microbial activity. As already mentioned, two factors, namely erosion (physical degradation) and pollution (chemical degradation), have resulted in the worldwide loss of a third of arable land.

This is predicted to have a negative impact on global food demand in future (Pimentel & Burgess, 2013).